Into the Rabbit Hole
by sensual-irish
Summary: A modern day version. Anna was just a student with no luck. Everything seems to be going wrong. It gets worse when she falls through a rip in the spacetime continuum and straight into Wonderland. Can she find her way home? Will she want to?
1. All I wanted was to jog

**A/N: Hey everybody!** **I decided since I am working on _Ruled By the Senses_, and I'm having a major writer's block on it, that I'd start a new story. I'm writing in the first person, and I've never written that way before, so I apologize if I screw up verb tenses or anything. I hope you enjoy it.**

God hates me.

I crawled between the cool satin sheets and snuggled down into the mountain of pillows on my bed. Another day of failure settled right behind my temporal lobe to hammer disappointment into my brain. My father's voice ringing in my ears and intensifying the headache.

All I wanted to do was crawl inside one of my books and live there instead of this life I was given. Who was it that said anything you wanted is possible? Whoever it was didn't know the meaning of the word fail.

I've been out of work for two weeks and can't find anywhere that's hiring. I live with a roommate in our tiny apartment with her huge dog and a cat that keeps bringing in dead rodents. That isn't the worst part. My roommate is a complete and utter slob and it scares me to step outside my room. Why don't I clean it? Mainly because I'm always gone and don't have time when I come home at night to do so. That and because the idea of what I might find scares me.

Now, mind you I'm no milk-and-water miss (after all, I'm a girl auto tech student) but when it comes to grossness, I can only handle so much when I'm the one cleaning it. So I basically stick to my room and eat meals at my best friend's house. She's off at college and her mom is having empty nest syndrome, so it all works out.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and if it was nice, I was going to take a jog along the lake on the bike path. After I stopped playing rugby in college, jogging was the only thing that I did to keep in shape.

A Nora Roberts novel found its way into my restless hands and I opened up to where I had stopped last. Irish music was being played in a pub, people laughing and romance in the air. I could almost hear it all and it made my heart ache.

About three chapters in, I started to doze and in that suspended time between wakefulness and sleep, I felt the book slip out of my hands; heard it land with a soft thump on the floor. The peeper frogs outside were silent tonight, heralding the changing of summer to autumn. Then the world became indistinct, the blackness of sleep prevailing.

I woke groggy the next morning to the annoying buzz of my alarm. The urge to skip my jog was strong, but I – being a creature of habit and routine – got up and dressed before I decided differently. It isn't that I don't like change, I just like having something constant when everything else was sucked into a vortex of chaos. And right now, my life is the very definition of chaos.

Stretching by the beach, and using a bench as my balance, I got the inexplicable urge to dive into the frigid water. Shaking off my wayward thoughts, I loped off in a gentle but quick pace and immediately lost myself to the process.

One, two, three. Left, left, breathe, breathe.

Controlling my body in a run was one of the few things I found I could master. Timing the breathing and amount of breath so as not to become winded was actually harder than I had originally thought, but eventually I got it and my endurance and stamina instantly improved.

I rounded the corner by a huge oak tree that had leaves the color of topaz, and instantly found that the world had dropped out from under me. I was falling through a black hole and all I could think of was _Alice in Wonderland._

I landed hard, hitting my head, and as I passed into unconsciousness, I realized I couldn't hear the sound of waves anymore.


	2. Voices through the Dark

**A/N: Okay, so this is only the second chapter and I'm sick of writing in first person. So from now on, I'm going to be writing third person. It's easier and takes less of my time. Sorry, but I've got two other stories going that need to be updated too. I'm leaving the first chappie as is 'cause I'm too lazy to change it. Have fun with this chapter. Please r&r! I'd greatly appreciate it.**

**KK**

**Chapter 2**

Anna swam through the thick darkness that enveloped her mind, aided in guidance by the distant voices. They sounded perplexed, a little off-kilter. Even though her brain was foggy, she recognized British accents. Not any particular British, but a sort of melding of all the different dialects.

Quite odd indeed.

"Is she dead?"

"What should we do with her?"

"She's quite a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

"Cheshire! These are no circumstances to be ogling a helpless young lady."

"Come on now, Mad. You can't tell me you didn't notice, I know you'd be lying. Admit it, fess up, the cat's out of the bag. Oh my, I just made a pun."

"Shut up, Cheshire."

"And it's a fine sentiment coming from the one who left the hole for the girl to fall into in the first place."

As she got closer to the surface of consciousness, the voices became louder, a little grating on the headache she could feel between the cushioning layers of darkness. She couldn't control it now, though. She was waking up and tried her best to steel herself against her aching head.

Two of the voices could be heard arguing over if the hole – whatever it was, had been left on accident or just because of laziness to clean up after oneself.

Peeping her lids open cautiously, Anna surveyed her surroundings, only mildly surprised to find that she was no longer on the lakeside trail.

"Ah, so you're finally waking up, are you?" A masculine voice rumbled . Anna looked around to find a man sitting just off her left shoulder. He had black hair that waved slightly to his shoulders, tousled sexily, his skin pale, but not unhealthily so, and his eyes..._Oh my God._ His eyes were purple!

Anna squeaked and bolted into a sitting position, turning quickly to face the handsome man with the odd colored eyes. She also noticed that the other two voices had been behind her, belonging to a male and female..._somethings_.

The male had blonde shaggy hair, was lanky of build with golden eyes. The girl was blonde haired as well, in a short, stylish crop, and had eyes of the purest sky blue. But they were definitely _not_ human. Instead of human ears, animal ears were there instead, and they had _tails_. The man had pink ears and tail that were tabby-striped with a deep purple. The girl, floppy white rabbit ears and a fluffy white tail that was now wiggling in irritation at the man-cat.

Both were completely gorgeous.

_Okay._ Anna thought. _I must have fallen and got a concussion. That explains why my head hurts and my hallucinations, and why all my hallucinations are so good-looking._

When the two noticed that the unexpected visitor was awake, both bounced over enthusiastically and crouched before her.

"She's alive!" The girl with the rabbit ears squealed in delight.

"Of course she's alive," The man snapped. "Didn't you see her breathing? Or was your rabbit brain too distracted to notice?" The girl started spluttering in indignation, but the man-cat paid her no mind. Instead, he captured Anna's chin and tilted her face to look into his mesmerizing eyes. "Pretty awake too. I've never seen eyes so clear a green. Almost the shade of emerald."

Anna tossed her head to get free of his hold, eyes looking a little bit fearful. "Who are you people? Where the hell am I?"

The man with the black hair smiled, and to Anna, it seemed a little on the insane side. "Why, I'm the Mad Hatter, these are my friends, the Cheshire cat and the White Rabbit. And you, my dear, have landed in Wonderland."

The White Rabbit glanced habitually at her pocketwatch and exclaimed, "Ah! I'm late! I'm late! I must hurry, hurry, hurry because I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" And so saying, bounded rabbit-like off into the distance.

Anna felt her headache suddenly disappear as a sense of floating replaced it. As her eyes drifted closed, she heard the Chesire curse.

"Mad, she's going to faint again! Do something!"

But she was all ready under that wonderful downy blanket of unconsciousness again.


	3. Surrounded by Black and White

**A/N: Hi everyone! Well, it's been a while since my last update, and it's sorry I am for that, but all's well that ends well. I like writing in these shorter chapters, so I'm thinking I'm going to stick to it for this story. The longer chapters make me frustrated with trying to find things to fill the space. Hope you like this chapter. Again, please Read and Review; any and all comments are welcome.**

**xoxo**

**KK**

**Chapter 3**

The Mad Hatter stood, stretching out the sore muscles that were stiff with sitting. He could hear the March Hare and Dormy outside at the tea party. This was the first time in his recollection that he had missed a tea party and wasn't regretting it.

The girl lay in the center of his bed, pale skin gleaming against the black satin sheets. The glorious mass of hair fanned out behind her, the color of dark chocolate. He knew her eyes were a shade of gray, almost quicksilver, with a light sunburst of gold around the pupil.

Cheshire had been right, he mused. He could no more ignore her beauty than he could the fact that the queen painted her garden roses red. The thick laquer made the roses droop pitifully.

Mad shook his head, clearing it from the tangent it had begun to follow. Controlling his thoughts had become a lot easier since the time Alice fell through the White Rabbit's hole. She'd never come back, but the whole of Wonderland had begun to change with her arrival.

Once a story had been told, of the land changing with the wishes of those who occupy it, but only to the extent of making it a better place to be, never changing the essence of what was. But Mad rarely thought of the legend, and when he did, soon was distracted by other, more interesting topics.

Like tea.

He raised the cup to his sensually full lips, sipping delicately, to savor the strong flavor. The girl in his bed stirred slightly, jerkily. As if she were having a nightmare.

She bolted upright into a sitting position and looked about her wildly, as if the Terrors of the woods were surrounding her. Mad watched her quietly, still sipping his tea, violet eyes missing nothing. No matter the creatures and people he knew in Wonderland, none were young human females. None struck such a longing within him; a longing he was even now trying to suppress.

And he'd only known her less than a day.

Anna looked around her as her heartbeat slowed and logic returned. She wasn't in the cabin, and she wasn't six years old anymore. The monsters couldn't get her here. Wherever 'here' was.

The room was completely black and white. She lay on sheets of black satin, a black satin quilt on top of that. The bedframe was white as snow, with the four posters reaching almost to the ceiling. Checkerboard tiles covered the floors, meeting with white walls that portrayed black climbing vines. A black armoire stood in one corner, white carvings in the wood; a matching dresser and chest against another wall.

Anna's eyes widened when she spied the gigantic mirror on the ceiling above the bed. "That's a little kinky, don't you think?" She muttered under her breath, only realizing that she wasn't alone by the soft chuckle off to her right.

There he sat, lounging negligently in an overstuffed black leather armchair by a black marble fireplace; his violet eyes capturing and hypnotizing her. She sat, unable to move, caught in his spell.

Anna noticed that his ears were pierced with what looked to be iron hoops, a smaller, similar hoop piercing his lower lip. A sexy, pouting lower lip, was the involuntary thought that ran through her mind.

"Where am I now?" She asked, sitting up. As she did so, she realized that she was clad only in her bra and underwear. "Where the hell are my clothes?!"

"Being washed. They were quite the worse for wear after your fall, dear."

His voice was smoky, a little gravelly, and matched the sexy package perfectly. Anna covered herself with the satin sheets. Good thing she was immune to gorgeous men. Or so she told herself.

She watched as he rose and strode over to the bed, sitting down on it beside her. "Um, Mr. Hatter, I think..."

"Mad, please. Under the circumstances, I think it's quite all right to address me casually."

Anna looked in his eyes again. Big mistake. She saw devilry, mischief, kindness, and yes, a bit of madness. "Okay, Mad. I think I need clothes to wear while mine are being cleaned. Might you have anything?"

He smiled, and Anna caught a glimpse of what might otherwise be called fangs. _Huh, figures, _she thought. The Mad Hatter rose and walked over to the armoire, pulling out a dress.

"You never answered my question. Where am I now?"

"My bedroom. It wouldn't do to leave you lying on the sofa downstairs, now would it?"

He turned his back while she put the dress on, returning to his previous stance only when he heard her indignant squeak.

"You call this _clothing? _You have a screw loose, cowboy."

"So I've heard. But it's not that bad."

Anna's face was blushing uncontrollably, eyes wide in disbelief. "I look like the gothic, harlot version of Little Bo Peep."

Mad bit his lower lip to keep from smiling in mischief. "But it's a cute Bo Peep you make, whatever that be." Then giving in to impulse, as he was wont to do, he stepped closer to close the distance between them. "You may come outside for tea if you wish. Or you can stay here and sulk that the gown is not to your liking." He bent down and brushed his lips against hers lightly, and before she could recover from her shock, he was gone.

"Well," was the only response her frazzled brain could muster.


	4. House of Oddity

**A/N: Hello! Sorry I took so long to post this! The descriptions took forever to come up with, but once they did, boy did they come. Please Read & Review!**

**xoxo**

**KK**

Anna made her way slowly out of the bedroom, gasping in wonder at the artistic design of the house; at the sheer oddity that it was. The hallway leading from Mad's room to the stairs had been built in a wavy pattern, and everything was painted and built to give the illusion that the entire hallway was melting.

"It's a good thing I'm not a drug addict," Anna muttered to herself. "This place would screw up my mind pretty bad."

The stairs themselves were fairly normal, other than the fact that they seemed to be made of solid gold with jewels embedded in the steps. _Has to be fake,_ she thought.

At the bottom of the stairs lay the living room, and beyond that, the entryway and the door. In the living room, Anna was almost deafened by the tick-tocking of hundreds of clocks. They covered every inch of wall, table and shelf space. A few pocket watches even lay on the worn sofa.

She covered her ears the best she could and hurried through into the entryway. There, by some blessed miracle, lay her Nike running sneakers. Putting them on, Anna grimaced in a show of vanity that they didn't match the dress that the Hatter had let her borrow.

"What I wouldn't give for my worn Phish t-shirt and a pair of old jeans," she quietly moaned. Yes the dress was cute, in and odd, gothic way, but you couldn't relax. You had to constantly watch where the hemline was at every moment lest it reveal a bit more than one likes to show.

Anna reached for the handle of the door, leaping back in surprise as the face carved into it began talking to her.

"I never in all my years met a young lady so rude as to grab my face without even a 'by-your-leave'. Of all the inconsiderate things…Even the Hatter has more manners than that!"

Anna stared in shock for a moment and crouched down to examine the talking doorknob. Her fascinated gaze didn't go unnoticed by the animated object.

"What? Never seen a talking doorknob before?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head apologetically. "I'm sorry if I've offended you. Where I come from, doorknobs don't speak at all, so you just gave me a bit of a start is all."

The doorknob huffed a bit and blustered to make a good show, but eventually turned and the door swung silently outward, revealing the Mad Hatter and his companions at the largest table Anna had ever seen.

What looked to be a mouse was half-way out of one teapot, sleeping on his folded arms. The Hatter and a….well, Rabbit-man would be the only description for him. He stood on his hind legs at what Anna would guess to be about five and a half feet, but he looked entirely like an overgrown rabbit wearing a suit.

"Ah! So you've decided to join us, my dear. Sit down, have a cup of tea."

Anna felt a sudden and unexpected wave of shyness pass over her as she let Mad help her to a chair. She shivered a little when he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Is the dress still not to your liking? It looks quite fabulous."

To cover her lack of composure, Anna glared at the Hatter, which only made him chuckle. He sat her down in a comfortable armchair and she started sipping her tea.

Before long, their small party was joined by the Cheshire Cat, who promptly seated himself on Anna's left; Mad glared at Cheshire from the chair on her right.

"Cheshire."

"Mad my good friend! Thought I'd drop in for tea, a little chat. How is our friend here doing?" Cheshire asked, his hungry eyes on Anna.

She thought she heard a growl come from the Hatter, but when she looked at him, his face was composed and maybe even a little bit disinterested.

"She's fine, Cheshire. Stop looking at her as if you want to devour her. It's making her uncomfortable."

It was true, but Anna didn't say anything. It was interesting to watch the two in a verbal tennis match.

"So what if I do?"

There it was. That was definitely a growl that came from Mad. Anna thought it rather resembled a wolf's warning rumble. Her face flushed as she realized what Cheshire had been referring to.

"Move down!" The March Hare called, and everyone shuffled down the table. More tea was poured into fresh cups and cakes placed on the clean plates.

"Really, what is with this whole 'Move down' business?" Anna asked, totally confused as to why they needed to keep moving around the table every ten minutes.

Everyone present looked at her as if she were mad; even Dormy.

"It was just a question," she mumbled into her cup.

"I know!" The Hatter exclaimed, clapping his hands together, rather as if he were a child getting presents Christmas morning. "I'll take Anna around for a little tour."

Ready to go anywhere except the insane tea party, Anna hurriedly agreed. After all, she needed to find a way to get home, and Mad might know about it.

"Capital idea, Mad. I'll just tag along," Cheshire said, feline smile all innocence. Mad growled again. "Or maybe I'll be going along to harass Bunny. It's all the same to me."

So saying, he vanished, his taunting smile fading last.

It was eerie, seeing that smile floating in the air all by itself, and Anna shivered a little. When the Hatter held out his arm for her to take as they strolled, Anna wondered whether this had been such a good idea after all. She barely knew the man. Yes, she was attracted to him, but that didn't mean anything.

As they started walking, Mad glanced at her and read her trepidation in her eyes. In a moment of pure mischief, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, knowing that having him so close rattled her.

"Don't worry, I won't bite. Not unless you want me to, that is."

Anna glared at him unconvincingly, trying not to laugh at the sheer outrageousness of it all.

"You, Mad Hatter, think far to much of yourself. I am not attracted to you," she lied.

He laughed lightly. "I think the lady protests too much."

His only reply was her letting go of his arm and leaving about five feet in between them. He laughed again when he thought he heard her mutter:

"Great, strolling with a nutter who quotes Shakespeare. This has got to be a concussion-induced dream, or else maybe _I'm _the one who's insane."


End file.
